The present invention relates generally to fuel systems for vehicles and, more particularly, to a grounded fuel delivery module for a fuel system of a vehicle.
It is known to provide a fuel system for a vehicle that includes a fuel delivery module disposed in a fuel tank to deliver fuel from the fuel tank to an engine of the vehicle. As the volatility of fuels has been decreased by government regulations, it has become necessary to provide a mechanism of dissipating charges which can develop in a fuel system as a result of fuel flow or movement of fuel within the fuel system under some environmental conditions. To prevent the buildup of charges similar to a capacitor, all metal or conductive plastic components in the flow of fuel must be electrically grounded to the same ground as a ground in the vehicle. Fuel lines attached to a cover of the fuel delivery module are intended to provide a ground path for these charges as they are bled off. The use of quick connect fittings in some applications may not provide a reliable ground connection. A way of providing reliability is to use a ground to an electrical ground such as that for the electrical fuel pump.
An example of an electrically grounded fuel delivery module is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,685 to Schelhas et al. In this patent, conductive convolute tubes are provided as an electrical ground for components through which fuel flows. These components can include the fuel filter, fuel regulator, as well as the convolute tubes themselves. Another patent, WO 200060231 uses conductive plastic material for the endcap of an electrical pump for the purpose of electrical grounding.
The fuel delivery module must be grounded for proper operation. Other manufacturers electrically ground various components such as the fuel regulator and/or fuel filter by attaching an electrical lead to these components. The electrical lead is tied into the fuel pump ground circuit. Typically, small electrical harnesses have been used, which require highly labor-intensive assembly methods or utilize expensive conductive plastics that have no fuel system exposure history.
As a result, it is desirable to provide new grounding for a fuel delivery module in a fuel system for a vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a link in an electrical circuit to ground all of the conductive or dissipative components in the fuel delivery module for a fuel system of a vehicle. It is further desirable to increase the reliability of the grounding in a fuel delivery module. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a grounded fuel delivery module for a fuel system that meets these desires.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new grounded fuel delivery module for a fuel system of a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a grounded fuel delivery module for a fuel system of a vehicle that increases the reliability of the grounding.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a grounded fuel delivery module for a fuel system of a vehicle including a fuel pump adapted to pump fuel from a fuel tank to an engine of the vehicle. The grounded fuel delivery module also includes a retainer contacting the fuel pump and a cover adapted to cover an opening in the fuel tank. The grounded fuel delivery module further includes at least one guide rod interconnecting the cover and the retainer to complete an electrical circuit used for grounding of components attached to either one of the cover and the retainer.
One advantage of the present invention is that a new grounded fuel delivery module is provided for a fuel system of a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the grounded fuel delivery module utilizes guide rods and a conductive pump retainer as links in an electrical circuit used to ground all of the conductive or dissipative components in the fuel delivery module. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the grounded fuel delivery module provides a multiplicity of metallic or conductive plastic rods as part of the grounding circuit, resulting in a more positive ground circuit than strictly relying on one ground path. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the grounded fuel delivery module increases the reliability of the grounding by completing electrical circuits between all of the components, which need to be grounded, and vehicle chassis ground sources.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.